Everytime I see someone discussing the social features on here, they are very polarized. It is either that they despise it, or that they love them.
I see people mourning the death of the forums and how it helped them learn grammar that isn't explicitly taught through just lessons themselves and helped them feel like a part of a community all learning together.
Then I see someone posting a screenshot here of someone being creepy/bigoted/spamming in the already very limited social features. It is pretty common here for people to say that they wish these features were gone, especially to protect children. I'm worried that the social features will be removed entirely and not without cause, it's a lot of work to moderate I bet.
I only follow three people I know in real life, plus an internet friend, the rest of the people I follow I just follow back because I believe in kindness and like seeing the sentences they post. I like working on quests with family or strangers, I like when I get notifications about my family because it feels like a more indirect way to keep in touch, sometimes I will get a notification and it's our code for that they are on break or lunch at work and can talk for a little bit. Another positive example, I am not learning Portuguese, but someone I follow is. So sometimes she posts sentences she's learning and I see the Spanish translation of the Portuguese phrase because I think she is a native Spanish speaker, then I translate the Spanish sentences into English in my head. It's like doing a mini lesson without even doing anything, I often find a bunch of cognates that make me feel encouraged if I wanted to learn Portuguese in the future.
So what I've been doing is compulsively liking/celebrating people's achievements in my feed, and always commenting positive and supportive comments that are fairly unique. When someone comes back after awhile I encourage them, when someone has a long streak or quest thing or whatever I am genuinely happy for them inside. I love that they are learning my tongue and I'm learning theirs, it feels like it fosters a sense of understanding and tolerance. I told my quest partner who is a stranger that I was sorry I wasn't pulling my weight because I was busy with work lately and he was super nice back! It was cool he could practice his English, it was somewhat awkwardly phrased and not natural but it was all correct technically. Practice like that builds confidence!
To paraphrase Vikram and his radio show, lovely readers, can we please try to positivity max and have an uplifting, kind community? It would be a really funny juxtaposition to have Duolingo the community having a reputation for: "super proud of you keep going heres constructive feedback on how to improve!" And Duolingo the company having a reputation of: "Please do your French lesson or the Canadian government will send Duo to your house to rip the English labels off of your food items."
I spam you with the XP doublers every time I can, never nudge, if we are not going to make a quest deadline I will dedicate an hour or so to make sure that you get that prize even if it's just 10xp you contributed because it's a big motivation for me that someone else is depending on me even if ultimately it's inconsequential. If I see you are killing it in the same language that I'm learning, I will focus on that one just a bit more in a sort of mini friendly competition in my head, etc.
Am I just weird and take this funny bird word app too seriously or are you all aboard the #positivitymaxxing train?

im a first year teacher teaching 9th grade at a school im miserable at. im transferring next year but im afraid im the problem. i came into teaching really excited and passionate, ive put in immense effort into my lessons, activities, and classroom and over the months ive just become cynical. ive felt like ive been a terrible teacher because i didnt know i was doing well until someone not at my school who observed me told me so. my school has never said a kind word to me and i thought i was the worst teacher there until i got a really high rating on my evaluations that even some veteran teachers dont get. even then though i just feel like ive gotten harsher and meaner. i teach math and i hold these kids to a high standard because i know they can meet it. they have a lot of math gaps and ive worked really hard to make the curriculum accessible for them and build difficulty up gradually. however theyre incredibly arrogant, lazy, and disrespectful. i have some good kids but i also have kids who refuse to do the work, complain when i assign them anything, and just cheat on every thing and then act like im a bad teacher because theyre failing especially when i catch them. i know covid has fucked them up and theyre more angry at struggling than at me but it still hurts. im young, this is my first big job, and im really hard on myself all the time. i just feel like all i do is be a terrible teacher and be harsh and cynical and that i have no redeeming qualities as an educator. ive had kids curse me out for holding them accountable and literally just making them stop cheating and they never say sorry but tell the admin they did when they get caught and then also say i never help them despite it being everything i fucking do. i just dont baby them and i dont do their work for them but im always always always helping. their parents are terrible and their kids literally act just like them. some are often respectful to my face and then go shittalk me and my other students tell me. i just feel like im bad at my job and i struggle to build these relationships so many other teachers can. i dont understand a lot of social cues and im awkward. i try to be playful but i just cant mesh with some of them. they have teachers way harsher and ruder than me but they have personalities the kids like so they like them while to them im just a bad difficult teacher picking on them for no reason even though all i do is grade their fucking math work and put it in the system and scold them when they go too far. im not even that harsh but it feels like i am. it doesnt help that the admin believe everything these kids say and never hold the kids accountable for anything. i feel paranoid and depressed and empty and everytime i leave school i feel like a husk of a human being who is mean and awful and horrible and fundamentally a terrible person who cant be nice to these kids even though i try so hard. i just dont tolerate their bs like phone usage, cheating, running around in my classroom yelling, being disrespectful to me or their classmates. i dont cower if they give me attitude; i usually just tell them point blank to stop very sternly. i give them very little homework and what i give is just required by the district to address math gaps. literally if you show up and pay attention youll be fine. i just dont know what to do. some kids like me, a lot dont and i cant take this constant disrespect. some of these kids even brag about the way they act and making me feel miserable. so many blame me for their failing even though i scaffold everything and they dont even try. i just cant help but feel like im the problem and that im just mean and harsh and awful and terrible at this. it doesnt help that i have ocd that forces me to ruminate and is also the kind of ocd that makes me both paranoid about being watched and scared that fundamentwlly im a terrible awful person. i just dont know what to do. i hope next year will be a new start but im scared im the problem. im trying my best and give so much lenience and help to these kids but theres those kids who wre just jerks, act terribly, blame me for failing despite me doing wverything to help them, and then tattle to the program head saying im mean and bad even though the program head doesnt believe them and knows how difficult they are! this school is so unsupportive and the admin are fucking awful. can i please have some i don’t know advice or words of encouragement from older teachers. im really sensitive and depressed and idk what to do. :,( im trying so hard. i put in so much effort to help them and make math accessible. theyre just mean and awful. i feel paranoid all the time

demographic: - male, polish, white\ -attending to top tier piblic high school ranked 50 in a country\ -around 100k$ income a year\ gpa:\ -around 3.9 uw in american system\ -my school doesn’t do weighted gpa\ -my school doesn’t do rankings\ APs:\ -there are no ap classes to take in my country\ SAT: -1570\ ECs:\ -created a website for my dad’s company\ -created a website in the investment topic\ -regularly took part in school sports competitions like table tennis or volleyball\ -school volunteer\ -took part in outside school environmental protection actions\ -leader of a school investment club\ -tutoring my friends and peers\ -regularly going to gym\ -tennis lessons\ -singing lessons\ -created resell short time business\ -president of a class\ -class treasurer\ -touring future students of my school\ -summer job\ -internship in a bank\ awards:\ -finalist of economics olympiad\ -finalist of maths olympiad\ -school scholarship for grades\ can you suggest me reach, match, safety schools? i’d love to attend top 25 college. i am able to spend up to 40k yearly in total. i am thinking of california new york florida or illinois unless i have chances for reputable college outside these states. thanks for responding🙏

I'm not doing great at the moment since it just happened. I don't like gossip or talking behind people's back. Ironic I know. This post is about whether or not I did the right thing. Please don't insult anyone else: my mom (umm), my wife (Annie), my dad (abpa), my brother (Barry), my sister (Maggie), my cousin (Frank).
Save your judgment for me. Context: I'm 35M. first born. I left home after a huge fight with my mom after college. I was homeless for a bit. We've since reconciled. But I suppose not anymore. There's history there.
I'm only posting to see if what I did was wrong.
All names have been replaced and are not real. Other details like dates and places that are personally identifiable will be removed/changed. There are two languages: I will always show the original and translate as fairly as I can.
It is relevant for fairness to share that my mom is 3 hours ahead of me. I'm west coast, she's east coast. (10am for me it's 1pm for her) My time will be shown in the messages.
I will keep all messages exact and unedited, outside of the above.
I repeat: DO NOT INSULT MY MOM OR WIFE OR FAMILY. am I the asshole. nothing about them. just me.
On Mom's Birthday:
Mom [10:43am] it's mom's birthday but nothing is here (original: 엄마 생일인데 아무것도 없어.) [10:52am] [Picture of kitchen island with boxed tonesunscreen on it] [10:53am] (Mom is/I am) really sad. This is what Annie sent me for a gift. $10-20 toiletries. Something I don't even use. (original: 엄마 많이 섭섭해. 이게 [name]가 보낸 선물이야. $10-20 짜리 화장품. 엄마 이거 쓰지도 않는데.)
Me [11:51am] She got the same thing she got for you and her mom. Throw it out and I'll make sure to buy something nicer for you.
Mom [12:03pm] If she or her mom got the thing then I should get the same thing. I'm not Annie or Annie's mom. I'm your mom. You shouldn't treat me like this. [12:07pm] Not even one happy birthday said. (original: 생일 축하한단 말 한마디 없이.)
Me [12:56pm] call (no answer) [1:11pm] call (no answer)
Next day:
Mom [5:10am] I didn't answer the phone yesterday because I felt like I'm crying. I don’t want to talk like that with you. When you got married Annie I tried to treat her as an our family member. I know I can not treat her same as Maggie (my sister). But last year she didn’t say any word on my birthday. Even you and I talked on the phone. I didn’t want so much from her just as a family say good word on birthday wishes. This year same thing. And you, when you asked me what can I do for you ( maybe you forgot that even you asked) I literally said “다른거 필요 없고 무슨날 엄마 밥이나 사줘” (translation: I don't need anything just buy me some dinner some time) I’m not asking you expensive things. Don’t say throw them out but nicer things. You really missed the point.
Me [11:28am] You were upset because I didn’t do something for your birthday by 1040am on a Workday. It’s not about expensive things but you want to text a picture of the gift and say it’s $10-20. You got a gift, but no card. It’s cheap but it’s not about money. Annie’s a family member, how could she not text. Right after she texted happy mother’s day to you. Yesterday before dinner, Annie tells me “make sure you call your mom it’s her birthday”. I didn’t tell her what happened because I don’t gossip and talk bad about people behind their back. I call or text and wish a happy birthday to family. Like I’ve done every year. It’s the same as what everyone does for me. Sometimes I don’t get a call. Sometimes I don’t get a text. Sometimes the call/text comes a day later. Never did I text my family members in the morning asking why people didn’t do more for me. I’ll make sure to let Annie know about wishing happy birthday to you. In my screenshot is my daily goals from yesterday, I was excited about this week. One of those things was, of course, calling you for your birthday, just like I called for mother’s day. Two hours later while I’m in a work meeting with my boss, 1040am, I get a text from you telling me about how sad you are from my wife’s cheap gift and how I haven’t said happy birthday yet. Yesterday I woke up and went to work, and planned to call you after. You have a habit of disproportionately trying to make me feel bad. You’ve done it on your birthday before many years ago after you and abpa[dad in korean] had a fight. I was a college student and you took it out on me cause I was the easy target. You’re an adult. Your child can call later in the day to wish you a happy birthday. It’s not okay to text trying to make your son feel bad about not doing something sooner. [11:29am] [Screenshot of whatsapp conversation between me and my virtual assistant] [Screenshot start] [8:13am yesterday] Goals for Today, I want to be disciplined. It’s been a few weeks now since my conference and because of the conference and drinking there, I became slow and lost the energy to stay on top of my diet/exercise and morning routines that I was so happy and proud of. Let’s get back to that this week. Let’s work hard, let’s continue to set sights on big goals. I want to work on the 3 projects I have going right now. [personal project 1 company idea], [personal project 2 company idea], and [current company].
Today I will exercise 25 situps, 25 pushups, 25 curls, 25 shoulder press, and 25 squats. Today I will finish a few [work things] for [company]. Today I will teach class for [project 2] finish [lesson], and let folks know that there will not be class on wednesday. I will call my mom later today and wish her a happy birthday. I will also be going to my brother’s to take care of credit card points so that we can buy tickets for [trip], let’s work hard today and get a lot done. [Screenshot end]
Mom [4:09pm] My birthday is passed last year and this year. She didn’t text or say anything these two years. You may think that’s ok but not for me. I just expect to acknowledge these days and congrat each other. Is that too much? I don’t expect anything from her. But you mentioned so proudly on Sunday that Annie send me TWO gifts. I just want you to know I’m very disappointed that you are ok with that gifts. That’s why I mentioned the price as well. My birthday and Mother’s Day are always near by. Sometimes same day or sometimes few day apart. Is that too much that I asked you more thoughtful gift from you? If you think that’s too much , forget about this conversation. I think I’ve never treated you like this.
Me [2:03am] You’ve treated me way worse in my life. You didn’t wait for a text. You wanted to text me to make me feel bad. You had a bad morning. Maybe a bad night. You didn’t feel like I cared or people cared. Or maybe something else happened. And you wanted me to feel bad.
But your happiness is not my responsibility.
Your birthday is not a free pass to send guilt tripping texts to me and expect nice texts back. Annie sent you poison? She sent you a 4.5 star tonesunscreen with thousands of nice reviews. She was just trying to send something nice. It’s not expensive. But you say it’s not about money? Then why are you crying about it?
No one said “happy birthday” yet? The day wasn’t over. Why text me only? Barry[My brother] didn’t call until 5pm.
No one else gave you a good gift? Or are you comparing it with gifts that you’ve given to Annie? Then you give revenge-gifts. If that’s it then don’t ever give Annie and I anything ever again. You just wanted a dinner? I’m on the other side of the country.
Should I text you on my birthday asking why my mailbox is empty? Should I ask abpa[dad] the last 20 years where’s my present? Should I try and make you or abpa feel bad on my birthday if I’m unhappy? No, of course not. None of those is how a mature person behaves. Because my happiness is not your responsibility.
“Just want a text to acknowledge and congratulate”. You didn’t wait for any text. You chose to start upset.
Why didn’t you text Barry? if it’s just the text of happy birthday? You scared of his response?
I know why you’re not scared of me. 5 years of therapy to learn the way you used me as an emotional punching bag.
Your birthday morning wasn’t the way you wanted. Your gift wasn’t the way you wanted. You didn’t feel like anyone cared. Whoever you talked to. Whatever happened. You were unhappy. So you sent those texts to me.
You try to make me feel bad when you’re unhappy with your life. Why? When you used to have a hard day at work. Bad [customer]. Bad traffic. Bad interaction with coworkers/boss. Bad talk with abpa[dad], grandma, Frank hyung(older cousin who lived with us). Who do you think received your anger for no fucking reason? If I did all my homework, played [instrument 1], practiced [instrument 2], got good grades, did all my kumon(after school homework) did you know it doesn’t matter what I did, if YOU had a bad day?
If I’m watching tv, or playing a game, if you have a bad day, then my day has to be a bad day. Because people around you can’t be happy when you’re miserable. Not people that you can control. And controlling me was all you had. Even as I got older. Not allowed to leave the house.
You couldn’t control the language or culture out of the house, you couldn’t control grandma, frank hyung, or abpa in the house. your whole life, you couldn’t control too much.
So you controlled what? me. a kid. And as soon as hitting me didn’t make me cry you just tried to control my emotions to make me cry.
2010 May [day retracted]. Fight with abpa in the morning, he leaves the house. So you go down to the basement to yell at your son for not getting you a cake.
Junior in college crying, guilty in the basement buying you cake. That’s what you wanted. Someone you controlled. Someone to be miserable because you were miserable.
5 years of therapy in my late 20s to learn you’re the reason I don’t notice when women step all over me. I grew up used to it. Bad women relationships, weak sense of self, emotional abuse, angry all the time. Parents like you made Asian Americans the least likely to become managers in the USA (context: I became one in my later 20s). No confidence. No inner strength. Just quiet private anger. A young man clenching his fists, holding his tongue, and listening to orders.
Constantly blame others, blame myself. Always angry. Always yelling at [dog1]/[dog2], always trying to control them when I’m upset. Critical of everything, everyone, myself, never feeling like I’m enough or okay. Because growing up I was constantly on the receiving end of anger that I didn’t create. Don’t talk back. Don’t look at the eyes. Look at the wall. Never right. Always wrong. But every year I’m fixing that a little bit. Why? Because now I’m responsible for my own happiness.
I refuse to stay a bad dad to [dog2].
No more blaming, just thinking and working. being confident. fighting back. defending mself. speaking out. Looking at people in the eye.
Yesterday you didn’t feel good. So I was the one who did something terrible for your birthday? Hmm. I was going to call just like Barry did. You’re sad about the gift? You feel like no one cares. Why is it that I’m the only one that got those texts. You think your message was going to create apologies and happy birthdays from me? No. I don’t think so. You just wanted me to feel bad. Because you felt bad. You like controlling me. And affecting my emotions.
It’s why I left home many years ago. And you still have old habits. You wanted me to feel bad. You did the same thing talking about the [old project] community a few years ago. When you don’t feel happy. You try to make me feel bad.
But I’m old enough to know now that I didn’t do anything to deserve that yesterday. And you’re not allowed to step on me like that anymore. I’m not some weak 21 year old that’s crying in the basement buying you cake. I told Annie not to call. Your negative behavior is not allowed in my life.
Every day I work to undo things from my past. You’ve stepped on me your whole life. Made me a very scared, very angry young man. People like that never make it in the world successfully. They have all kinds of problems. But I want this to be very clear. I am going to be successful. I am going to be a [retracted]. I am going to make a positive difference in this world for those who are positive to others. And It will be despite all that you’ve done to me. It will happen because I will surround myself with peace, and positivity. Not negativity and manipulation. Through peace and for others, I will work harder than you or abpa or anyone you have ever known has ever done in their entire lives.
But If I don’t make it, that’s on me. If I’m unhappy today, that’s on me. If I lack something today, that’s me. I have to choose to be better. I have to work harder. Cause I’m responsible for my happiness.
You can choose whether or not you want to be negative or positive person moving forward in my life. That’s your choice. You want to step on me? Try to bring me down when you feel down? That’s your choice. But it’s my choice whether or not to let you be in my life.
you being unhappy yesterday morning. That’s you. That’s your choice. Acting the way you did. trying to make your son feel bad. That’s all you. You’re responsible for your own happiness. I didn’t do anything yesterday to deserve your texts trying to pull me down.
This is my last text about this. This conversation is over. Say one more thing about this that doesn’t resemble an apology and I’m not going on the [family trip]. Keep telling me youre an “innocent victim” “all I wanted was a happy birthday text” and you won’t hear from me for years. Be responsible for your actions. I have no room for your negative emotional manipulation in my life.
Mom [7:14am] Annie…. Very first gift from her was well known brand toner. That gave me bad skin reaction so I had to throw it out. I don’t want to talk to her about it because I appreciated what she wanted to try. But next time when I saw her in las Vegas I told her that her sun screen lotion ( what she used at that time) gave me a bad reaction so I can not use it. Last year when Maggie gave her 화장품 (toiletry) as a birthday gift she said that thanks but she can not use it because she has allergic reactions. Which is understandable but she’s still doing same thing to me. I don’t know who mentioned about good reviews or you found out your self. That doesn’t mean it’s good for me. She and I didn’t talk that much anything so far only few subject. I feel like she doesn’t care. I don’t know why you guys decided to send gift more than a month before. And how you said she send me two gifts made me so upset.
Barry… Barry and I talked about our birthday on the phone last week how it was good at last year’s dinner. He planned but eventually Appa paid( I mentioned who paid because you don’t get wrong info. ) and the way he always said skipping one year is not end of the world. We laughed about it. And he said next time we gonna have a good time. He called at 5 pm on my birthday I know as soon as he woke up he called me.
You mentioned why Barry is ok. Did I scare him? Come on… he is not saying nice words all the time but he is very thoughtful person. I think you agree with this.
You… I really sorry that you have all bad memories about me and your youth. I can not go back and I can not fix it now. I’m thinking back that days if I can live again maybe react little differently like I treated Maggie. As a first child you had a lot bad experiences. I agreed. But don’t say your life was miserable because of ME all the time. If you think this way there’s no reason to see me. I’m really happy to see, hear and feel that you’re working hard, being healthy and having enjoyable life. I want you to be a healther, happier and more successful person than right now. That’s no matter why we talked about right now. But I really want to make a point that don’t say I had bad morning or bad night before that’s why text you like that. Maybe you’re right. I had bad night before. After talked on the phone with you (as I told you before ). I felt disappointed so much. You keep saying you felt bad because of my text, why I didn’t wait? Calling to me is part of your daily plan. You keep saying I made you feel bad because I had anger problems or bad days. You’ve never thought about “what did I do wrong or did I miss anything?” You said you away from me how can I buy dinner? Same as easy to buy on line ( by Amazon) any merchandise. There’s tons of way to offer , you can make a reservation any restaurant or even you can send money 100- 200 dollars. Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think it’s going to hurt you financially. Last year I waited until last minute that Annie would text me any word. No. That didn’t happen. If I waited until you call this year what’s the difference? I want more than hearing your voice is too much. Sorry that I think that way. And not being adult I ordered Rolex watch for next years your birthday gift and I was so excited about it. Maybe that’s why I’m expecting more than what you’re in mind about me. You are right. That’s all my problems.
[7:45am] If you don’t want to come [familytrip] , don’t spend time with family I can not force you to come. But don’t say if I don’t apologize you don’t come. Is new way to threaten? Come on [my name]. This is really too much.
Me [10:02am] There’s a difference between threats and boundaries. No one is allowed to be in my life to spend their energy trying to bring me down. Who would do something like that? My own mother. No we aren’t going on the [trip]. (context: all the tickets and arrangements have been purchased, this isn't some cop out, it's non-refundable, nothing to do with money on anyone's side)
You want to continue the conversation after I said I was done? Actions and consequences: Annie and I are very unthoughtful and uncaring to give you a skin care gift again. I’ll tell her exactly what happened. I’ll have her read every message. And understand what we did wrong. I’ll make sure we feel terrible today. I’ll make sure she remembers it forever. I will make sure my wife cries for your sadness and for our mistakes. We’re a bad son/wife who don’t care about my mother’s birthday and mother’s day. Your message has been fully received. We will feel sorry, we will cry and we will feel bad for you. I will struggle to work for my job. I will struggle to do my projects, and teach my students, I will think all day and all night about how sad this is. About this conversation, about our gift, about your gifts, about the phone call, the texts, mother’s day, your birthday, my birthdays. last year your birthday when we were in [another country]. I will struggle to eat and sleep properly. I know Annie and how sensitive she is. She will struggle and cry too. Your son and his wife will feel terrible about your birthday. Your message will be successful. You’ve brought the world down around you. Congratulations. Just like old times. Everyone is sad now. "You’re right.”
I will say one last thing as your son: be careful about hurting the people around you when you have a bad day. If you keep tearing the world around you down, there isn’t going to be a world left.
You and I are not going in the same direction.
I’m trying to learn how to be positive, hardworking, successful, strong, encouraging and helping others. Trying to be a little more positive everyday. Maybe I will never get there. But I will try. You want to spend your time fixating on me saying “two gifts”. You want to spend your time staring at the boxes, and sending pictures. You want to spend your time comparing, looking at costs, pitying yourself and telling people around you how terrible they are on your birthday. I guess that drama is something you want. Not me. You and I are on different paths.
After Annie and I cry for what we did. My boundary is this, I will never let you do this to me again. That will be the last scar. We will remember every year on your birthday, and remind ourselves how terrible and uncaring we were. I will remember that you wanted me to know and feel that. Every year I will remember but that will be the last scar you ever leave on me. You should return the Rolex. I will never use it, I will never wear it, I will throw it out instantly. To me it’s a poisonous gift. Don’t ever give me or Annie any gifts for the rest of my life.
We will smile and not forget that those past gifts were given out of your care and thoughtfulness. We will remember you did your best and wanted to do nice things in your way. but we will be sad with you. And be unable to use your gifts because your gifts comes with weight, revenge and paybacks. And we cannot accept them. You did everything right. You’re a good mom. We are just bad people. We never earned them or paid you back in our thoughtfulness for them. All gifts you have given me and her, we will stop using today.
I will not be receiving your messages anymore. Goodbye
[Blocked from phone/all social media.]
AITAH. Reminder do not talk bad about anyone else. I'll delete those comments. This is just about whether or not I did the right thing.

demographic: - male, polish, white\ -attending to top tier piblic high school ranked 50 in a country\ -around 100k$ income a year\ gpa:\ -around 3.9 uw in american system\ -my school doesn’t do weighted gpa\ -my school doesn’t do rankings\ APs:\ -there are no ap classes to take in my country\ SAT: -1570\ ECs:\ -created a website for my dad’s company\ -created a website in the investment topic\ -regularly took part in school sports competitions like table tennis or volleyball\ -school volunteer\ -took part in outside school environmental protection actions\ -leader of a school investment club\ -tutoring my friends and peers\ -regularly going to gym\ -tennis lessons\ -singing lessons\ -created resell short time business\ -president of a class\ -class treasurer\ -touring future students of my school\ -summer job\ -internship in a bank\ awards:\ -finalist of economics olympiad\ -finalist of maths olympiad\ -school scholarship for grades\ can you suggest me reach, match, safety schools? i’d love to attend top 25 college. i am able to spend up to 40k yearly in total. i am thinking of california new york florida or illinois unless i have chances for reputable college outside these states. thanks for responding🙏

I hope this makes sense. I am getting texts from someone or a gang of people, often thinking I’m someone else. I’ve had this number since I got a cell phone in 5th grade, and the person they claim to think I am always changes.
It’s almost always a woman, who ends up saying very formal like , “I hope I did not disturb your restful evening, dear.” And then a pic of themselves a pretty pic of themselves.
First time it happened years ago, this woman wanted to talk to me and sent me a pic of a very large and fancy European wine bottle.
A white girl same way, sent me pics that were kinda racy. I ended up telling her I’m a cop and to stop.
Then months later, I got a text looking for that cop because she wanted to friends.
More recently, I got text from a woman who looks like a K-pop artist. And tonight, I got another message.
Idk if this is AI, the area code changes often I figured it’s probably a text app they use to harass me.
Has anyone else experienced similar behavior?

My daughter is about to finish 5th grade and promote to middle school. The middle school has a girl’s basketball team and my daughter has said she wants to play. I would normally fully support this but in this instance I feel I must make a stand.
Three years ago my daughter told my wife and I she wanted to play basketball. My wife and I are both very tall (wife is 6’2” I’m a half inch taller than her)so our daughter is in the 99% percentile for height(daughter is 5’4” age 11). Wife and I were both in favor of it, so we found a league for young girls and signed her up. They had practice once a week and games on Saturday mornings. It lasted about a month and a half, maybe 6 weeks in total.
As soon as we signed her up, I installed a nice goal in our driveway. It’s a nice concrete court and the goal is adjustable in height (the first year she played they used 8ft goals). However, for the past 3 years the only person who has ever used the goal is me. My daughter shot on it for a few minutes the day I installed it, and hasn’t attempted to use it since.
So for the past 3 years we have been hauling her to practice once a week for 6 weeks and games on Saturday mornings for those weeks. She never practices at all outside of that, despite me trying to initiate practices with her on several occasions.
Now that she has grown out of that league she wants to play for the school team. And herein lies the rub. The school season is several months long, multiple practices per week and about 30 games. This is no longer a minor time sink, this is an investment.
I told my wife I wasn’t interested in signing her up for what will end up being a massive time investment for the wife and I when she has shown no real interest in actually playing the sport. I work for myself so it’s not an issue for me to take time to get her to practice or to attend her games, for me this has become a thing of principle.
My wife is backing me on this decision in front of my daughter(we have made it our mission to be a unified force in front of our children) but I know she disagrees with me on this. She is completely selfless when it comes to our children and would have no problem taking her to the practices or the games, and told me I was exempt. But I don’t want to be exempt. I want my daughter to learn a valuable life lesson.
I told my wife that this is a teaching moment. Our daughter is not a baby anymore, and just because you want something doesn’t mean you get it. She says she wants to play basketball, but isn’t willing to practice at all. She lives in a world where her wanting it is enough, and I think it’s time she learned that things don’t happen by magic.
Wife has agreed to back me on this, but I’m pretty sure she thinks I’m being an asshole, especially after I didn’t change my stance after she offered to take full responsibility for it. Am I the asshole?

This is a weird situation. I'm going to start telling the situation, and then I am curious what you guys would do in my position. For reference, I'm a middle school ELA teacher.
So, about a week ago (two weeks before the end of the year), we were informed via an emergency meeting that we would need to add 9 days to the school year due to our calendar being submitted incorrectly. It's a long story, but we're a charter school and apparently we made a mistake submitting the calendar and, despite having well over our required instructional minutes, we are being forced by the state to add 9 full instructional days to our calendar. In other words, it's two weeks more of school with Memorial Day off.
The state sees these as normal school days and anyone absent is required to be marked absent. However, the students and families see these as optional. The way it is being presented to the families is that it is "additional" and not "actual school days." Even though the situation is complicated and not really our fault, they are actual school days by law. A significant number of the kids will probably not come.
Then there's the contract. My last contracted day is this Friday. We were offered a day rate for each day we are willing to work. I could use the money, so I signed up for 7 of the 9 days. I figured the 4-day weekend would be a decent break and I'd just jump back in to help out and get some extra money that I could use for a vacation over the now delayed summer. We were informed we may or may not actually be scheduled for the days we signed up for.
I was informed today that I was going to be scheduled the second week (so four days due to Memorial Day), which is fine by me. Then I found out that I would be teaching all of 7th grade and all of 8th grade by myself ALL DAY. Like I'm the ONLY one working with this group. They seem to believe that very few students are going to come, but how they can be sure of this, I don't know. What happens if they all come? That would be about 80 kids.
I also am not at all familiar with teaching any class longer than an hour. Imagine trying to teach a full day to a group of kids who are in school while half their friends are on summer vacation already. I literally have no idea what to do. I want to tell them I can't work it, but they are going to be extremely pissed. My assumption is that if they are running it like this, that no one volunteered. It's entirely possible that literally no 8th graders show up because they will have already had their promotion ceremony and all have their high schools lined up. There's literally no point in going. We're not even grading anything.
So, what would you do in this situation? I'm very hesitant to just bail on them, but I also do NOT have enough content for four 6 hour days. Movies and stuff will only get me so far because these kids can't make it through a full movie with their fried attention spans. Even taking them out on the playground scares me if there's no other adults because things escalate insanely fast with these kids. I'm genuinely concerned someone is going to get hurt and I'll be responsible. I also highly suspect it's only going to be the shithead kids because the parents will jump on the chance to get them out of the house for a couple more weeks. I'm also concerned about the legality of all of this, but I guess that isn't my problem.
They won't do work, because they know it's not being graded and half the kids aren't even going to be there which they will consider unfair. They are never going to listen to me lecture for six hours. Do I just get a bunch of board games and shit together? I was also instructed that I would need lesson plans in case the state asks what we were doing those days, which means I need 6 hours of content for 4 days (24 hours of content). I am an ELA teacher, not math, social studies or science.
I feel like telling them I just can't do it without another adult, but I know they're just going to say no one is available. They know I'm a single guy and have the free time, where as everyone else is going to claim they planned family trips and stuff. I DID sign up in the first place because I don't really have an "excuse," but I assumed we'd have at least a few periods.

For context, I am a 23 year old first time teacher at an international school in a country foreign to me. I will be leaving the school this year and moving to a new school on a different continent. I teach 5th grade.
Several of my current students have said they want to add me on snapchat/instagram after I leave the school. I am uncertain if this is okay or not and looking for guidance. I do not post anything inappropriate, mostly just pictures of family, me in nature, or cool buildings.

Here's the situation. The first assignment in this class was a 15% short essay. Siobhan O'Flynn gave me a passing score, saying my grade was significantly reduced because one paraphrase wasn't the original author's viewpoint.
Of course, I believed the original author expressed the viewpoint, so I sent a Quercus inbox message explaining this (she said she would respond much slower compared to email, very old-school). I didn't include one word of a regrading in the message at all, just clarification. In the message, I quoted the original text and provided more detailed reasoning. However, after reading the message, the professor lowered my grade to 40%.
This in itself is outrageous: without any changes to the assignment, simply because a student tried to explain, the professor lowered the grade from passing to failing.
But it doesn't end there; within 40 minutes, my grade was further reduced to 30%, and during that time, I did nothing, and the original submission didn't change at all.
I believe that if a professor has such power, simply shutting students' mouths and giving them 0 would be better. I believe students have the right to explain their motivation in their work without fearing their marks being taken away.
Furthermore, the grading scheme and project instructions are unclear, even though she can talk about them for more than 2 hours each class(rambling); also, she asks students to sign an academic integrity form at the beginning of the term and once for every subsequent assignment, which is unnecessarily stupid. I can't believe someone is still doing this in 2024, requiring a total of 5 academic integrity forms for one class.
In summary, avoid this professor.
Lastly, the course itself seems decent; it has no tests or exams and will cover data visualization and practical chart tools later on.

I've played the piano since 2021 (got one for chrismas after asking), I started lessons 15.8.2022. Before I started lessons, I practised some on my own
Sometimes I've played really consistently for a while, before not playing almost at all for months (except for when I have lessons). Turns out it's my ADHD, I got a diagnosis a few months ago. Hoping meds will help me practise consistently now.
Anyway, if you don't practise routinely, you won't get better that fast. I'm not exactly bad at playing the piano, I've learnt grade 7 stuff, but in the end I don't know that many pieces. The way I play isn't exactly noteworthy. My understanding of theory is almost nonexistent, because I can't make sense of my theory teacher for the life of me. She talks quickly, quietly and stutters. One of those on it's own would make it hard for me. How am I supposed to learn theory on my own when I don't know where to even start?
I don't even play to be "impressive" I play because it's art. But I very suddenly just got this weird inferioity complex. How can I catch up to other people my age when I've only played for a few years and haven't even consistently practised properly so far?
I'm going to grade 10 before college so I have a year time. Music is my passion, but I do not believe I'm getting into any music college even if I train very hard. These places only let a few people in, and they know their shit.
I'm sorry for the rant 😅 I just wanted someone to hear it. I know I'm being a bit dramatic, but even if I am, I'd apprecciate some words of advice and/or wisdom.
Thank you

Some kids just really hate math no matter what. How do you determine the best math curriculum for your math averse child?
I’m frazzled trying to figure out whether the math is too easy (boring) or whether there is a comprehension issue.
My child (grade 7) says the lesson portion of the math doesn’t explain it right. I’m thinking they mean it’s broken down too simple that they are having a hard time grasping the whole picture.
Recommendations?

I’m looking to see if this phone policy would be effective, or if I shouldn’t even bother. I know effectiveness of policy depends on the school and teacher’s willingness to enforce that boundary. It’s my first year teaching and phone use has been a nightmare. Most of my kids will be on them constantly, to the point where it impacts their grades. So far I think I’m the type of teacher who enforces a one-size-fits-all policy for rules (not structure of lessons), so things like RR use, late work, etc policies are enforced for everyone unless I’m given solid documentation otherwise. I think I want to make phones part of this policy. But I don’t know of any teachers who enforce this policy consistently, save one educator that I plan on speaking with. I’ve had teachers tell me their policies, but none of them consistently enforce it. But to me it is an immense issue and something I want to act on. I’m planning on having them put their phones in pockets and if I see them using them I won’t grade their work or give them a school computer for the day. I’m usually pretty good at being vigilant so I don’t anticipate phones getting stolen. I don’t want to pick and choose who to take phones from/call home for if use is excessive, because I can already anticipate the “but they’re using their phone!1!1!” argument. There is no policy enforced at my school, but I can imagine that if I include this in the syllabus and inform the students/families of it, then I should have admin support on the policy. My thing is…I work at a rather awful Title 1 school where I get little to no admin support on discipline. So…is it worth it? I feel like it is, but if anyone has some sage advice to share/a different policy I can approach this with, I’d appreciate that.

You guys. These kids are straight up jerks! Like, basic manners are out the window. They can’t just sit quietly for me to introduce myself and take attendance.
I used to be a real teacher and have been subbing the last couple years because, bills. I can’t believe how bad it’s gotten. The basic ability to follow a simple directive.
I had a kid sighing loudly every time I spoke. He’s in third grade! I was like, excuse you that’s rude. He’s like, God, I’m just breathing!
And I can’t even with the 5th graders. At least when I was a real teacher I had the power of being in contact with their parents. As a sub I’m basically helpless.
I have to back to the classroom (see above re:bills) and I just dread it. I really hope they aren’t this way for the classroom teachers.
Thankfully I’m a high school teacher, but they aren’t any better. Just think of the good karma we’re raking in though.

I understand this may just sound like a kid ranting but it’s really messed with me this past week.
I (17M) have been dating my gf (17F) since we were both 13. We met in seventh grade, and began dating in eighth.
We’ve been through a lot (in retrospect considering were 17) together. At the start, her parents wanted me.. excommunicated to say the least. But, we didn’t give up and eventually we got to where i am insanely close with her mother and her brother, her father, well, not so much. Ive been on numerous vacations with them, been invited to many family gatherings, and overall have been treated as part of the family by her mother for the past year and a half, eventually asking them for their hand in marriage (once we are both graduated)
They said yes, and Ive been planning the details for a few months, including what ring, when, where, and how i will propose, etc etc..
Fast forward to now..
I have always been a bigger kid (i was 5’7 165 in fourth grade).. but i was told i couldnt play football because i was practically a teddy bear, i wouldnt have hurt a fly without feeling bad back then. But, i joined my schools Football team as an OLB my Sophomore year (i was 6’1 205 at this time).. i did great, was MVP of our 5A state championship game, and was on track to get a scholarship
Then my growth spurt hit, and so did my weight. I finished last season weighing in at 6’5 275, so obviously i was unable to play OLB effectively and was switched to Nose. A whole new position i had no clue how to play.
Anyway..
Spring practice starts this year, my first year as a Nose. I give it my all and gain interest from a Mid-Major in the south. I now have incentive to give my all, because i can seriously get a D1 scholarship.
So, i go to my girlfriend, and i say “hey, I got interest from a school, so this means i cant half-ass my craft anymore, i gotta give my all, so im going to be incredibly busy this summer and wont be able to talk much, i will try to as often as possible though.”
She did not take that well, she’s always been on the needy side, but she said “you can’t expect me to be okay with this, i NEED your attention.”
Obviously I overruled that and chose the scholarship, thinking “Obviously she knows i love her and this is just temporary, i just have other priorities rn”
Today, i was talking to a friend, and she gave me transcripts (not the right word, i guess paraphrasing is closer?) of one of her calls with my now- ex gf.
I told her id wait for her, im too focused on ball rn to have relations with girls, but apparently she thought differently
She completely lost interest a year ago, had a secret relationship for the past six months, and was shittalking me about how i was ugly (i consider myself a solid 7-7.5) and how i was overconfident and i shouldnt believe in myself bc it wont get anywhere.
I was devastated, but not surprised.
On one hand, the love of my life and the girl i planned on proposing to next year was faking everything for the past year.
On the other, i saw it coming, shes been distant and more friendly towards other guys in a borderline flirtatious manner recently.
Did i unknowingly dodge a bullet here?

okay i know it sounds a bit daft and obnoxious but just stay with me
i get generally good grades, and since mocks are coming around after GCSES, i'd like to revise for them problem is i just.. can't. it's hard to focus at home, and i barely have any free time outside of lessons (lunch time, after school etc). even then, when i do revise, i don't feel like i'm actually learning and retaining information out of all revision methods, i feel like doing past papers is the best for me? i haven't learnt the full spec yet so it makes doing them confusing and unoptimal
any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!!

I was an X-ray baby, I remember the feeling of showing up to 30th AG. My basic class was 75% X-rays, dudes were studs, ripped strong fast and here I was a 180 pound 5’9 slightly out of shape 20 year old kid with a little college and a little work before I decided to chase my dreams and join the X-ray program. I felt a little out of place but still had the fire burning in me, my first week of basic a 30 year old X-ray who was build exactly like terry cruise (who I later became very close friends with) said to me something along the lines of “your just a kid you’ll enjoy the regular army when you get dropped”. That really rubbed me the wrong way, from that point on every time we got smoked ( it was plentiful) I made it a point to do more pushups or whatever exercises the drills threw at as whenever he would rest to quit. Throughout basic I ran every run like my life depended on and and pushed myself hard when I could have shitbagged the smoke sessions. By the end of basic I had a perfect apft score (only about 30 of our X-rays had that) and had X-rays coming up to me who I hadn’t ever talked too now that i had earned some “respect” or whatever you want to call it. Over half our X-rays got dropped before osut was over from not meeting the Apft standards. Tip #1 don’t ship if your out of shape and don’t slack off in basic the lack of good food and sleep will get to you if you are borderline to begin with. There is no excuse for failing the apft at the end of basic, you knew what you needed when you signed up don’t lie to yourself on your physical condition.
Next it was off to airborne school, I was still mid Covid so rules were gay and guys were slacking off big time. If I’m being honest with myself I could of pushed harder during this timeframe. It is easy to get comfortable with the newfound freedom, don’t get out of shape, have a little bit of fun with your buddies but don’t get in trouble and don’t drink yourself out of shape. Tip #2 Organized PT during airborne is a joke, get to the gym after the long days. Start working on building back up your leg, grip, lower back strength and keep your condition to at least where you were at the end of basic. Trust me your gona want that strength during team week. Listen to the Jumpmaster if you land correctly you won’t get hurt too badly, most airborne injuries are because of incorrect landings. Don’t anticipate the ground. I think most of us are scared the first jump, just get out the door and enjoy the view, now that I’m getting out I wish I would of done more than my 15 jumps (besides jrtc jumps fuck jumping with a 240 and 100 pounds of Ammo and gear), most people are never lucky enough to experience the feeling of floating in a parachute. Try not to be a injury recycle at airborne, the pipeline is long enough as is.
Finally, the bus to bragg (liberty whatever the fuck you newdicks call it). I was excited, home of the special forces, this is where shit gets real. My motivation was probably at an all time high at this point, I’ve made some lifelong friendships throughout basic and me and my boys were showing up for the real thing after all the big army gayness (if only I knew). Pt test first week of getting to AT, a surprising number of people failed and were send off to the double A (remember what I said about slacking off). Don’t let that be you. We had a couple month long wait before we classes up for prep, tons of free time, again have fun but don’t go crazy those Raleigh girls don’t think your cool tell them your a software engineer or something. Tip #3 Blanket statement but stay away from the Fayetteville girls, they got stds or they are CSM’s daughter / wife. Also while your in AT you have so much time to train, perfect food via SWC dfac and ample rest time. I was training 3x a day cardio lifting and rolling with my group of buddies, we were super motivated and ready to get started.
Now prep course started up after block leave, got some time to myself with my family and proposed to my now wife (typical) we have a son now and she is my rock. Not everyone can deal with the lifestyle you are after make sure your shits together before getting married it will be hard, even in the regular army I was away for half the year at peace time. Prep course is great but if your not healthy it will break your body. The training is fairly intense and you will be putting lots of miles on your legs, make sure you are taking recovery seriously you will learn lots from the cadre don’t slack off on recovery, I saw too many good dudes get hurt and vanish. The classes are great, there is no reason to not pass the star after all the instruction and practical exercises you receive. I knew nothing of landnav before the army and got 6/8 on the star, good enough to keep me from getting dropped. Prepare physically and mentally for sfas, you should be reaching your peak shape at this point. Prep isn’t long enough to put on meaningful strength gains, so make sure you are lifting the whole time from airborne till sfas. Strength is vital to sfas (specifically team week).
Your packing list is ready, your group of 150xrays from basic is now down to 45. I’m not going to spoil selection for you, prep your packing list and get with former X-rays and your buddies and get all the handy shit they say. Sfas is painful, it was physically the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Team week felt like legitimate torture and I was like a terminally ill 90 year old getting out of bed during it. Take care of your feet, remember what you learned during land nav prep and don’t get lost on the star ( easier said than done). My land nav advice would be take it slow, stay calm, use your techniques and if you think your getting lost find a know point to reorient yourself. I only ran after I got lost on the second day to find my 6th point, I got lost because I was being stupid plainly. Shot a panic azimuth to a lake and ran for my 5th and 6th point, but if you don’t get lost you have no reason to run to your death. During team week you will be tiered, before you go do peers take some notes on how you will peer your team, you’ll forget who’s roster number is who if you don’t.
The Final Cut of sfas, standing there with my bags I was confident I had preformed well. Then they called my roster number out, I walked my way over with my head down. Off to tent city I went, 21 day nonselect. I was overwhelmed with feelings of despair, all of that work and pain and was hit with a 2 year as we’re the rest of the 21 days from my class. Not even gona lie here I shed a tear when I saw my best friend at tent city who was a 6 month land nav drop.(got selected and is off to group, fucking amazing guy I’m happy for him) back to Bragg I went.
Got my orders to the 82nd, when I showed up I was depressed. My wife and me still weren’t married, I was living alone in the b’s and getting smoked daily for anything my new TL could come up with that day. Now you might be here, maybe you didn’t get selected, at the end of the day the cadre have there reasons, self reflect and write down what you want to improve if you are going back. There are two types of X-rays at the 82nd and elsewhere, those that give up and become shitbags and those that succeed and thrive in their role as an infantryman, some of them go back to sfas and make it, some become amazing SL’s and some get out and do great things as a civilian. It’s alright to be bummed out, I was for at least 6 months, I truly believe god has a plan for everyone and that everything happens for a reason even if you don’t know that reason at the time it happens. I stopped feeling sorry to myself and was put in the weapons squad as a 240 gunner. I had an amazing former batt boy SL who grew me and my gun team into what I would say was one of the best gun teams in the army. We were all strong fast and in great shape, our 240 gun drills and accuracy was always on point. This is because we took our job seriously and took pride in our performance. The big army is gay, that’s the truth I don’t give a fuck if you’re great at Joe history trivia or the best toy soldier for details. Be good at your job and work on it, saw gunner rifle man TL ect. I know you didn’t want to be in the 82nd, but if your a Man you will stop feeling sorry for yourself and take pride in your work, be the best at your job and no one can fuck with you, remember you can still go to war and you and your buddies lives may depend on it. I never got smoked once in weapons because I took my shit seriously and had great leadership to help me grow. If you push yourself and get schools, you can go back to SFAS as a seasoned team leader e5 with ranger and EIB / Jumpmaster, you will breeze through TAC skills with your knowledge from your time on the line, and your X-ray classmates can rely on you for knowledge on tactics. I know the 82nd can be gay, but if you rise above it you can learn a lot, and go on to do what you wanted to in the first place. Make the best of your situation and don’t be a feel sorry for me pussy.
Remember what I said about god having a plan? I was diagnosed with a progressive genetic disease that is life threatening if not treated. If I had been selected I would have surely ignored it and ended up with parts of my inside cut out of possibly dead. Funny enough a form GB pa was the one who referred me to get checked. Now I am leaving Bragg in a week to start my csp, and just handed off my ruck up or shut up book to a TL who is going to sfas tomorrow. Not sure if anyone took the time to read all of this , it was therapeutic in a way to put it down in writing. Even if my advice helps one dude I’ll be happy, good luck boys get fucking after it.
TL;DR: via chat gpt The narrator started military training as an underprepared X-ray but quickly pushed himself to excel in basic training. Despite rigorous preparation, he was not selected for SFAS and ended up in the 82nd Airborne. Overcoming initial disappointment, he thrived in his role, learned valuable lessons, and found motivation in unexpected challenges. His journey underscores the importance of resilience and adaptability, culminating in a health diagnosis that shifted his perspective on his military path.

demographic: - male, polish, white\ -attending to top tier piblic high school ranked 50 in a country\ -around 100k$ income a year\ gpa:\ -around 3.9 uw in american system\ -my school doesn’t do weighted gpa\ -my school doesn’t do rankings\ APs:\ -there are no ap classes to take in my country\ SAT: -1570\ ECs:\ -created a website for my dad’s company\ -created a website in the investment topic\ -regularly took part in school sports competitions like table tennis or volleyball\ -school volunteer\ -took part in outside school environmental protection actions\ -leader of a school investment club\ -tutoring my friends and peers\ -regularly going to gym\ -tennis lessons\ -singing lessons\ -created resell short time business\ -president of a class\ -class treasurer\ -touring future students of my school\ -summer job\ -internship in a bank\ awards:\ -finalist of economics olympiad\ -finalist of maths olympiad\ -school scholarship for grades\ can you suggest me reach, match, safety schools? i’d love to attend top 25 college. i am able to spend up to 40k yearly in total. i am thinking of california new york florida or illinois unless i have chances for reputable college outside these states. thanks for responding🙏

"3 minutes!" The engineer shouted from the cockpit to Thraile as he addressed part of his command staff.
The sounds of artillery blaring in the background, and the shaking of the ground was more than enough to mask the drills approach to the curtain wall of the fire keep.
Spotlights of the Tau defenders scanned the open ground, crrating massive beams of light in the darkness.
"Keep the shells coming. Do not stop firing." Thraile said to his officers who were anxious about the opearation.
"When the green flair is shot, get the men moving from the trenches and notify Greim that the curtain wall has been breached."
"Yes, sir. Exoneration through blood."
"Exoneration through blood." Thraile replied before turning around and embarking the breaching drill.

(Rolled D100 to see how many make the journey) (result: 78% survive)
Breaching drill 225
It was cramped. Really cramped. The dim red light of the troop compartment felt more decorative than an actual light source. Men shook inside as the drill clawed its way towards it target.
"At least this is better than the Voleran mineshafts..." Sergeant Trax said to his men as they anxiously listened to every crack and pop of the drill.
The men chuckled slightly.
"Yeah...my feet are dry atleast..."
Breaching drill 142
The men raised their heads from the ground at the sudden loud screech coming from the front.
"Status report!" Lieutenant Cortana shouted at the driver.
There was no response.
"DRIVER!"
...
After a moment that felt like an eternity, the response came. "Its dead, sir..."
...
"Can you repair it?" Cortana asked with a hint of despair in his voice.
"No, sir. Sorry, sir."
BLAM
The gunshot from the cockpit was the waking moment for the soldiers inside the drill. Cortana and his men sat in the back of the drill, knowing full well what their situation ment.
"It was an honour men...it seems we have done our part..."

Curtain wall
The ground shook once more as another shell hit the wall.
"Those blasted Imperials..." Au'nva thought as she moved her searchlight across the no man's land. Although the bombardment was heavy, the front seemed to be calm. The stories passed along by the human auxillia told of Imperial sieges, lasting decades. Constant bombardment, with occasional full frontal assaults.
As many nights before, nothing was happening. The defences of the curtain wall stood strong.
"Erva'n you're up! I'm starving! I'll bring you some food aswell if you take the rest of my watch."
...
"Erva'n! You little sh*#&. I know you are not sleeping!"
There was no reply...
Au'nva sighed deeply. She was frustrated with his battlebuddy and decided to leave her post to teach the young man a lesson.
She walked one story down to the ground floor and froze. A massive machine, with something resembling a badly beaten up drill on the front rested quietly at the base of the defences.
"What the..."
Her words were cut short by the cold steel of a krieg knife, effortlesly gliding across her exposed throat. As she fell to the ground, trying to hold the blood from squirting out, she saw the trooper in a dark trenchcoat. The dark lenses of its gasmask in stark contrast to the blating white skull, painted on its mask.
The masked abomination kneeled beside her. Almost like it was enjoying the moment. It stared at her as it whispered
"suffer not the alien to live"

The dark skies of the central front lit up once more with flashes of red and blue as the Krieg 5th began their assault on the curtain wall.
(Combat post 2 coming tomorrow. This will determine the success of the assault)

I grew up in Fort Collins during the 80s and went to a little school called Waverly Elementary, way out north on Highway 15.
My 6th grade class was the last to graduate from Waverly because the school was shut down that year (1992) and all the kids were relocated to Wellington or CLP.
Nobody wanted this to happen. Everyone was so fearful that it would ruin our little community north of town. 5th grade me even went so far as to write a letter to Bill Cosby (yes, THAT Bill Cosby - I had heard that he made something like $6m in 1991 so surely he could afford to save our school!), but alas, nobody could stop the inexorable march of budget cuts.
We cried and complained and protested just like everybody is doing today about the latest PSD closures, but eventually it came to pass and life went on. This was way before public education had become so politicized. Houses were still dirt cheap and people were still having plenty of kids.
I would argue that this happened during the peak of affordability, hopefulness for the future, and societal optimism. If it could happen then, it certainly can happen now, and it will continue to happen into the future and will likely even accelerate.
I'm not saying that we shouldn't work to prevent closures and fight for alternatives, but if the hammer does eventually drop, just know that it has already dropped many times before.
Just some perspective for people who didn't grow up here!

I live across the street from an elementary school K-5 with on site state preschool. I have 4 kids with my oldest about to graduate high school. My oldest started at this elementary in preschool and all 4 kids have gone to this school, minus a couple years we moved to a neighboring town. My youngest has decided she wants to spend 5th grade at a STEM centered charter school. So this is my last year with kids at this school. I love this school. I have had nothing but good experiences with them, out of all the school my kids have been to in this district it is by far my favorite. There are several staff that have been here with my kids throughout the years and know them. Teachers and crossing guards stop my older kids to talk to them. It’s just a great environment.
So I am looking for suggestions as how to best show my appreciation to the whole staff. The youngest current teacher has been a favorite of 3/4 kids so she will get something separate. But I also want to thank the front office staff and the crossing gaurds and yard duties who have been there throughout and helped my kids with all the little things.

Hello to everybody! I need some strong advice and I figured coming on here would be my best solution. I am a highschool student and I’ve been asked to help a distant relative, a 14 year old girl. I was told she really struggles with anxiety, mental illnesses and is not doing very well in school. Although she goes to therapy, she hasn’t been given a diagnosis yet. She grew up and is still living in an abusive, financially dreaded household and barely has the resources for basic hygiene. She is bullied often at school and both of her parents as well as her siblings don’t take care of her. She is a very intelligent person with a high IQ and she is fluent in English, but she speaks very badly in our native tongue. She stutters a lot and it’s very hard for her to put her thoughts into words. I have just talked with her over the phone and she’s told me she often has bad thoughts, she feels a lot of the time that she’s an alien, she is bullied by everyone and her bully is manipulating others into making her out as the bad person, so much so that even the teachers won’t listen to her, or when she reaches out she is told to deal with it. I have been asked by her step sister to give her some extra lessons for school, but I know her focus isn’t at it’s highest potential. She needs to get really good grades so that she moves away and starts school in a different city, away from the environment that breaks her apart. What can I do to help her? Is there a way I could make her feel more accepted, have more confidence in herself and help her in the process of healing her wounds? I’m not very much older than her so I know I’m not very in the knowing of what is the best way to act in this situation. If any of you have advice, I will accept it and take it all into consideration. Thanks a lot!